Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013
There seems to be a preoccupation with editors and journalists in the British press to cast the UAE and Dubai in a negative light. In recent years, they have taken great joy in highlighting hapless Britons who fall foul of the law in the UAE. That is why we have had to endure such infamous tales of debauchery like a drunken couple who were prosecuted for having sex on a beach in Dubai, or another pair who faced jail for having sex in the backseat of a Dubai taxi.
One wonders how those same editors would react if drunken tourists engaged in such lewd behaviour on Brighton Beach.
And now comes the “shock horror” tale of three Britons who were “tortured” here, which has not been corroborated by any evidence and is based on ill-founded allegations. Let us consider some facts here without delving into the hype of this type of tabloid sales-based journalism: There are an estimated 120,000 Britons who live in the UAE, enjoying its lifestyle and benefits. A further 50,000 visit here each year, the vast majority of whom enjoy their stay and follow our laws.
The three were caught with a kilo of spice, an artificial form of hashish. They claimed they had consumed the drug outside the UAE and were physically abused into signing confessions.
The allegations of abuse were investigated and were found to be baseless — there was no physical evidence of abuse on their bodies. And they had ample opportunity to make the claims and allow for further investigation, but they did not. The torture claims were floated by a relative to a British media outlet. She had not seen the three in custody.
Let us also remember that the British embassy has had to produce a brochure and offer advice to visiting Britons on how to behave: Don’t get drunk in public; respect local laws and traditions and don’t use drugs.
The trio obviously didn’t read the brochure.
Gulf News
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